The News Tribune asked Northlanders to share homemade Halloween costume ideas before the spooky holiday arrived. Here are your submissions.
The key elements of my family's KISS costumes are the hair (purchased online) and the makeup. After that, we just used black clothes, lots of rhinestones, silver paint, duct tape and silver glitter spray paint for the accessories. The platform shoes were a challenge because we built the shoes up using thick faux black leather around Crocs.
Submitted by Cordelia Swanson of Duluth
This is me in the 1980s! All three of these costumes - the clown, hunchback and witch - were homemade right down to the hula hoop waist on the clown outfit. With all my costumes, I disguised my hands with gloves and wore fake teeth to prevent people from knowing if I was male or female. I didn't talk out loud until after midnight - that was tough.
With the hunchback and the clown outfits, I wore a package of quilt batting around my torso to make me look heavier - yes it was hot! The clown had a fake skull cap, squirt-gun flower pin and rainbow-colored false eyelashes. I had a heck of a time removing the fake hair off my hunch back legs; it took a while to wear down. They were all good times with good friends.
Submitted by Lori Berrigan of Mountain Iron
My mother in law Kathy Pearson has made some really awesome costumes for my husband, Levi Pearson, over the years. One year, Levi and his friends dressed as the bad guys from the Batman series. She made this Two-Face costume (middle) by taking apart a suit and sewing new fabric together. My friend Tiffany did the face paint. His friends Mike Gruhot (left) dressed as the Penguin and Randy See (right), the Joker.
Here I'm pictured with Levi in his boxing kangaroo costume. I don't have a full-body picture of of the costume, but it took a lot of work from my mother-in-law and her sister.
Submitted by Jeanne Pearson of Fredenberg Township
ADVERTISEMENT
Here is my 8-year-old granddaughter Shelby Jadeke in her dragon costume. She asked me to make it for her this year. She explained to me how she wanted it to look and said she tried to draw me a picture, but it just didn't work.
So I took notes, bought a pattern and improvised it a bit to her specifications.
Submitted by Joy Kennedy of Duluth
Last year, I made my son's Batman minion costume - per his request - with felt, a tin pan, spray paint, hot glue and a mattress pad.
My daughter wanted to be a monarch butterfly. To make it, I free-handed a basic wing pattern, and glued and sewed felt and satin together. She still wears it sometimes.
Submitted by Sarah Jadeke of Cloquet
My very talented mother-in-law Audrey Senarighi of Cloquet makes my kids' costumes every year. This year, we have a witch and Mickey Mouse!
Submitted by Amanda Senarighi of Duluth
We made my niece, Izabel Decaigny, into Pippi Longstocking this year! Simple, yet fun, costume. We sewed patches onto her bibs and did some crazy socks.
Submitted by Cynthia Hindermann of Duluth
My son Shawn was two year old in 2005 when his grandma made his mouse costume.
Submitted by Jill Bailey of Moose Lake
At 6 years old, Claire Beernsten of Minong was "White Vader" instead of Darth Vader for Halloween. She was making snowflakes and ended up making a mask by coloring on it. She made holes and tied a piece of yarn to hold it on her head.
Submitted by Claire Beernsten's great-grandmother
ADVERTISEMENT
This is Sofia Salmela as a Ghostbuster and Lussi Salmela as a unicorn.
For the Ghostbuster costume, we got a kid's flight suit and made the patches out of felt. We made the blaster out of a shoebox, sump pump hose and a flashlight.
For her unicorn outfit, Lussi used a fleece vest she had and hot glued on felt ears, a yarn mane and covered an ice cream cone in duct tape as the horn.
The tail is made of feathers that come together - we bought it at Michaels. She put a styrofoam ball under the tail to give it lift. The skirt is from Target.
Submitted by Kara Salmela of Duluth
